I think the saddest thing is that they say he looks more like a 12 year old, so his growth and development probably have been severely stunted by the abuse and neglect. So physically, mentally and emotionally, he's probably more like a 12 year old, but the system is likely going to treat him like an "almost 18" year old." Or he's going to be shuttled into the "developmentally disabled" category, which could mean long term institutional care (and boy does quality of care vary from region to region).
Some institutions will try to prepare him for life, and others are more warehousing situations.
Last edited by kaplods; 12-06-2008 at 11:39 AM.
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